The present invention relates generally to knives, and more particularly to folding knives capable of being locked in an open position. Folding knives with various types of locking mechanisms are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,189,005, 1,454,665, 4,040,181, 4,240,201, 4,274,200, 4,404,748, 4,451,982, 4,502,221, 4,670,984, 4,805,303, 4,811,486, 4,837,932, 4,974,323, 4,979,301, 5,044,079, 5,060,379, 5,111,581, 5,293,690, 5,400,509, 5,425,175, 5,461,786, 5,515,610, 5,537,750, 5,689,885, 5,692,304, 5,737,841, 5,822,866, and 5,887,347, and in British Patent No. 3,490. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,454,665, 4,274,200, 4,451,982, 5,111,581, 5,425,175, 5,737,841, and 5,822,866 are herein incorporated by reference. These patents disclose locking mechanisms where a blade is locked or held in place using a sliding-style locking device.
The present invention is a folding knife having a blade locking mechanism movably secured to the handle, so that the locking mechanism may be moved into a locking position. In the locking position, the locking mechanism blocks a protruding member extending transversely outward from the blade surface to lock the blade in an open position. This may be accomplished by providing a movable latch on the end of the knife handle, and biasing the latch into an extended position, in which it prevents blade rotation by obstructing a post secured to the blade. The latch may be configured in an exposed location on the knife handle so that the blade may be unlocked and moved to the closed position using one hand. In addition to assisting the locking function, the post may be configured to enable easy, one-handed opening of the blade.